Movie mayhem: books on the big screen

A recent letter from a reader got us thinking about the challenge of adapting books into movies. John Rich of Cleveland, Ohio, wrote BookPage with this intriguing question:

"I've heard a lot of talk of late about film adaptations of books (due to the release of A Beautiful Mind, The Shipping News and The Lord of the Rings, all works I loved on the page and on the screen). Just wondering, what do you think are the three worst adaptations of good books?" Cover

We don't pretend to have a comprehensive, all-time, worst book-to-movie list, but a few lousy choices immediately come to mind. Right up there at number one has to be The Scarlet Letter, the 1995 version that is, in which Demi does Hester. It's just one of those things that never should have happened. Like genetically modified foods, or sheep cloning, it's just not right.

A close second: The Great Gatsby (1974). Mamma Mia Farrow! What was director Jack Clayton thinking? The costumes were the only good thing in this flick.

And coming in third, All the Pretty Horses. We give Billy Bob Thornton credit for trying to turn Cormac McCarthy's rough-hewn prose into film, but even cutie Matt Damon couldn't save this one.

Mr. Rich asked for the worst three films, but we'll throw in a fourth selection for good measure, because we just can't resist: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt's uber bestseller. Clint Eastwood directed the 1997 film, which featured a great cast with unbelievably bad Southern accents.

By the end of the summer, after a new crop of movies has come and gone, we might have a few more nominees. But who knows? Maybe one of the following upcoming films will rise to the level of other great adaptations (Out of Africa, The English Patient, even Bridget Jones's Diary and work its own special magic on the screen: Cover

  • About a Boy British writer Nick Hornby became a moviemaker's favorite with the success of High Fidelity. Now directors Chris and Paul Weitz (American Pie) bring his third novel to the screen in a film starring Hugh Grant as a playboy who makes a habit of dating single mothers. All goes well until he encounters 12-year-old Marcus, who offers him some valuable lessons on growing up. In theaters May 17.

  • The Sum of All Fears Yet another Tom Clancy novel (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games) makes it way to the screen, with Ben Affleck taking over the role of CIA agent Jack Ryan. Because of the sensitive subject matter (terrorists who plot to drop a nuclear weapon on the Super Bowl) release of the film was delayed after Sept. 11. In theaters May 31.

  • Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Can the ultimate "woman's book" be transformed into a first-rate chick flick? The millions of readers who adored Rebecca Wells' novel are sure to flock to theaters to find out (and drag along their significant others to share the joy). Callie Khouri directs an all-star cast (Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Smith) in this tale of four lifelong girlfriends whose bonds are as tight as superglue. In theaters June 7.

  • The Bourne Identity Based on the first novel in Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne trilogy, this big-budget action film stars Matt Damon as the mysterious man who washes up on a Mediterranean island with no past and no identity. In theaters June 14.

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